Desk
Phones from leak to launch to price cut: what was announced, what it costs where, and when it goes on sale. Indian launches and prices included, not appended.
Stories on this desk are written by Hitechreports’s automated newsroom from the sources credited on each piece. Bylines are desk signatures, not individual journalists.
Signatures used by this desk: Pocket, Spec Sheet, Launch Day
iFixit's teardown found Apple's first foldable easier to open than any rival foldable so far, though a cluttered hinge and loose dust seals keep the score modest.
Flipkart has confirmed its Big Bang Diwali Sale 2026 begins October 28, with SBI card discounts, EMI offers and a phone lineup running from the iPhone 17 to budget models from Poco, Moto and Realme.
Samsung has begun rolling out a second October update to the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Flip 8, following a similar unexplained patch for the Galaxy S26 lineup the same day.
Oppo's Find X10 Pro Max launched in India at Rs 1,99,999 on October 22, with European pricing set at €1,800, and goes on sale October 29.
Oppo will sell a Forest Green Find X10 in China starting October 30, a finish designed with artist Karlotta Freier. Pricing for the new color hasn't been announced, and there's no word on a global release.
Oppo's Find X10 Pro Max and Apple's iPhone 18 Pro Max are now both available in India, each built around a 2nm flagship chip and a large AMOLED or OLED display, according to a new specifications comparison.
iFixit's iPhone Duo teardown found an easy-to-remove battery and outer screen, earning a repair score of 5 out of 10, but pointed to a stressed hinge junction as the likely source of reported screen cracks.
Months after One UI 9 arrived on Galaxy phones, Samsung's AI features like Now Brief and Now Nudge are still missing the mark compared to Google's Pixel software, according to an extended hands-on account from Android Authority.
Oppo has brought the Find X10 and Find X10 Pro Max to India and Europe, a month after their China launch. GSMArena's review calls the Pro Max pricey, with a cut-down battery and charging speed on European units compared with China and India.
iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max buyers are reporting magenta and green tints or washed-out colors on their screens. Apple sources panels from both Samsung Display and LG Display, and buyers can't choose which one they get.
YouTuber Zack Nelson's JerryRigEverything test found the iPhone Duo's hinge can trap sand and dirt, and its inner AMOLED screen cracked and stopped responding when bent against its fold, despite the frame holding up.
A quiet addition in One UI 9 logs every trip once your phone pairs with the car. Android Police found it more useful than expected.
The Google Pixel 11 Pro XL has landed in India at Rs 1,34,999, pitting it against the Oppo Find X10's Rs 1,39,999 starting price. Here's how the two flagships compare on display, chipset, cameras and battery.
The iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,200 (₹164,900) against the iPhone 16 Pro's $1,000 (₹120,000). The newer phone adds an A20 Pro chip, 12GB of RAM, a 3,000-nit display and a 48MP periscope camera.
Oppo has launched the Find X10 and Find X10 Pro Max outside China, priced at €1,300/£1,100 and €1,800/£1,500. European units carry a smaller 7,150mAh battery than the 8,000mAh cell sold at home.
Apple's first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, has reportedly had its entire first week of inventory booked through pre-orders in India, according to one report, though Apple has not confirmed pricing or launch details.
OnePlus has confirmed ColorOS 17 for the OnePlus 15 in India, while Oppo is sending the update to the Find X9 series and other models in India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand ahead of schedule.
Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8 launched in July 2026 at $1,899 and is now widely discounted, with open-box units at Best Buy dropping as much as $580.
Ahead of its October 23 launch, iPhone Duo units are reportedly arriving at Apple Stores for auditing, with leaked unboxings surfacing online. Apple is also said to be canceling orders from buyers who exceeded a two-unit limit.
The standard iPhone 18 skipped Apple's September event and is now expected around March or April 2027, alongside the iPhone 18e and iPhone Air 2, according to industry leaks and analyst notes.
Apple is reportedly testing iPhone Duo 2 prototypes with Face ID hidden under the outer display, addressing complaints that the first foldable iPhone shipped with only a Touch ID side button.
iQOO 16 pairs a 165Hz display and an 8,400mAh battery with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, while Xiaomi 18 Pro counters with a 200MP Leica camera system and a secondary rear screen.
Apple has expanded its Self Service Repair Store to cover the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, M5 Mac Studio and M6 Mac mini, letting owners buy genuine parts and rent tools for do-it-yourself fixes.
A leaked hands-on video of the iPhone Duo shows the display feeling unusually soft right at the crease, reigniting durability worries about Apple's first foldable and its costly repair fees.
Every Pixel 11 phone, from the base model to the Pro Fold, ships with Magic Capture, a camera mode that pulls high-quality still photos out of recorded video without any manual screenshotting.
Samsung's base Galaxy S26 now costs $1,000 in the US as memory prices push smartphone costs higher across the board, coinciding with a reported 20% sales decline that Android Authority calls the steepest drop in nearly 14 years.
A leaked photo shared by tipster Ice Universe reportedly shows the Samsung W27, a more premium China-market version of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra with a blue and gold finish, though Samsung has confirmed nothing yet.
Apple's iPhone Duo foldable went on sale with reported strong demand, delayed deliveries and queues outside stores in Sydney and other cities, even as early reviews flagged camera and usability concerns. No India pricing or launch window has been confirmed.
Leaks and certification listings point to a Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra priced around Rs 1,89,990 in India, up from the Galaxy S26 Ultra's Rs 1,39,999 launch price, with a faster chip and bigger battery tipped.
The Gemini app on Android now features a redesigned side panel with search at top right and a consolidated settings page, following last week's rollout to iOS, macOS, and web with Gemini 4 Argon.